I've been gone for awhile but realized that I had nowhere to store my musings and what is going on in our family. So I'll start with our vacation out west last summer in 2018. Yes that was a long time ago.
Thursday June 21
- Flew to Phoenix
- Rented a car and drove to hotel near south rim Grand Canyon
- Maswik lodge
- The Maswik lodge didn't have a pool which was the one thing we wished it had. We went straight to bed - we were exhausted!
- Friday June 22
- Early in the morning we got up to hike the Bright Angel trail. It was HOT so we wanted an early start. We each got a bottle of powerade to drink but halfway through (1.5 miles down the canyon) we filled it with water. Erik brought a backpack filled with granola bars that we ate at the halfway point. The way back up was difficult but we all made it!
- At 5:30pm in the evening we went to the Bright Angel lodge for the sunset tour. This was beautiful and we got to hear some information about the Grand Canyon. I recommend it!
- Saturday June 23
- We walked the rim trail which was 5 miles. Even though it was longer than yesterday we didn't have any complaining since it was relatively flat. Sarah had a blister but luckily Joel had a bandaid. What a boy scout!
- Sunday June 24
- Left the Grand Canyon at 7am. This got us to Zion around lunchtime. Because of the government shutdown we were not sure if the busses would take us to the different places to hike but they did.
- We hiked the Kayenta trail and the lower Emerald Pools trail. Even though the Kayenta trail was listed as a moderate trail it was very rocky and at points there was a dropoff that looked rather precarious. It was a great hike though.
- Next we drove from Zion to Bryce Canyon and stopped to take pictures at checkerboard mesa. At each of the National Parks the kids have gotten crushed pennies. It is a cheap and fun souvenir.
- At Bryce Canyon we did the Sunrise to Sunset point hike. It was a short hike (after a long day that was nice) but we were able to see the Bryce Amphitheater.
We stayed at the Best Western Ruby Inn
- Monday June 25
- This was a long day of driving. We stopped at Provo, Utah and met Jenna's friend Lauren for lunch at a gaming restaurant - the Good Moves cafe. We walked around the city and even considered looking for Brandon Sanderson's office at Brigham Young University.
- Then we drove to Pocatello and stayed at the Pocatello Holiday Inn.
- Tuesday June 26
- We drove to the Grand Tetons. This was a beautiful National park. We hiked to Phelps Lake and saw the most spectacular views. No we didn't get a picture of all of looking ;).
- Erik and Jenna waded through the freezing cold water too. Yikes
- Next we drove to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed at the Super 8 Gardiner in Montana.
- Wednesday June 27
- Yellowstone in a Day tour. This tour I booked (and it was crazy expensive) because I read that parking was difficult in Yellowstone. My hope was that this bus tour would be able to park where we weren't. It was a disappointment. Basically the tour took us around - which was neat! But didn't go to some spots because parking was too bad. They basically told us we need to come back when parking is better. Even so we had an absolute blast! We saw Old Faithful and the mud pots. We saw an area that looked and smelled like a dragon lived there. There was also a rainbow near a waterfall we saw. In addition there were tons of wildlife including buffalo.
- Thursday June 28
- We drove through the Bear Tooth Pass. This was simultaneously frightening and beautiful. Erik drove which was great since he may have gotten extremely motion sick if he didn't drive.
- On the way we visited Old Trail Town - old west town: Old Trail Town, 1831 Demaris Dr, Cody, WY 82414. Then stayed in WY.
- Friday June 29
- We got up early to drive to Colorado. On the way to the house we would stay with the cousins, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. We did a hike to gem lake. It was a tough hike and we had to take some breaks but it was beautiful. This was our last day of hiking and we loved it.
We stayed at the Colorado house until July 1 when we flew home. We saw Erik's cousins and their families and had a fabulous time together. It was an amazing trip.
